Program Update

Minor Technical Change Has No Impact
 

On E15 Waiver for MY2001-06 Vehicles
 EPA has concluded that a recently discovered minor technical error 

related to one test vehicle has no material impact on its January 

2011 decision to grant a partial waiver allowing up to 15% ethanol 

in gasoline (E15) to be sold for use in model year (MY) 2001-2006 

passenger vehicles. The error stemmed from a manufacturer’s mislabeling of the test vehicle model. Because the MY2001-06 waiver is 

currently under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District 

of Columbia Circuit, EPA has informed the Court and other parties of 

the technical error, even though it is minor. EPA’s action is in keeping 

with the Agency’s commitment to transparency and to following 

science and the law. 

•	 Asa result of the manufacturer’s incorrect Vehicle Emission Control Informa­

tion (VECI) label, EPA compared the test results fora single MY2001-2006

test vehicle model, the MY2002 Nissan Frontier, to emission standards for

one category of light-duty trucks instead of another category of light-duty

trucks.

•	 The corrected comparison shows that the Frontier operated on E15 met

the applicable standards throughout its regulatory full useful life (FUL) of

100,000 miles. It exceeded only the standard for nonmethane organic hydro­

carbons (NMOG) by 0.003 grams per miles (0.090 versus 0.093) when tested

at 140,000 miles, 40,000 miles beyond when standards apply.

•	 The corrected comparison also shows that more E0 test vehicles operated on

E0 (gasoline with no ethanol) had more total emissions exceedances than did

E15 test vehicles. Specifically, three E0 test vehicles experienceda total of six

exceedances whereas two E15 vehicles hada total of two exceedances.

Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

EPA-420-F-12-015 

February 2012 
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

		

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 			

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 		

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	

•	 The emissions deterioration analysis of the full set of MY2001-2006 test vehicle data,

including for the Frontier, indicates that E15 is not likely the cause of the E15 vehicles’

exceedances.

•	 The corrected comparison is consistent with and supportive of the factual and analytical

bases for the January 2011 partial waiver for MY2001-2006 passenger vehicles.

•	 The primary bases for the January 2011 partial waiver decision are an engineering assessment based on vehicle design changes and an emissions deterioration analysis based on

extensive Department of Energy (DOE) test data. The minor technical error does not

affect either of these analyses.

•	 There is no change to the October 2010 and January 2011 partial waivers that together

allow E15 to be sold for use in MY2001 and newer passenger vehicles. Both waivers

remain in effect.	

•	 The minor technical error with respect to the MY2002 Frontier in no way affects the

October 2010 partial waiver for MY2007 and newer passenger vehicles.

For More Information 

You can access EPA’s complete evaluation of the DOE Catalyst Study test results for the Frontier

and related materials on EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) Web site at:

www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/additive/e15

For additional information please contact EPA’a Fuels Program at:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
 

Office of Transportation and Air Quality (6405J)
 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
 

Washington, DC 20460
 

Voice-mail: (202) 343-9755
 

E-mail: epafuelsprograms@epa.gov

Program Update

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